Trance
by Lena Breeze
Summary: A SW RPG character bio told Kushiban style! Boy meets girl, falls in love with girl then leaves girl to follow his dreams. While away, the girl has a temper tantrum and vows to stop the evil Empire. Set in "Rise of the Empire".
1. Chapter 1: Childhood Dreams

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

1. This story began as a character bio for the Star Wars tabletop role-playing game, which means that you probably won't see any familiar characters in this story. Rather it is an original story set in the Star Wars universe starting at the time right before the Old Republic fell.

2. The story starts on a planet called Kushibah, which most people probably are not familiar with. It is a planet on the Outer Rim of the galaxy, which makes it largely isolated from the hubbub of the Core planets. The native inhabitants - the Kushiban - are small little rabbit like creatures - about 1/2 a meter to one meter tall, they have white fur that can turn black when they are angry and have little hands in place of paws. If you want to learn more about the Kushiban and their planet before reading this story, please check the Wookiepedia entry: wiki/Kushiban

3. Usual disclaimer: I did not create this universe (that was George Lucas), and the setting has been borrowed (thank you Star Wars Alien Anthology and Wookiepedia!)

-

The first time Keven saw her, he wasn't sure what to think. Her fur was black, nearly standing on end and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. She was engaged in some sort of conversation with a couple of other Kushiban kits, who were the reknowned bullies among the children in town. She stood still, showing no trace of fear in her eyes as she worked to control her anger that was spilling out in the colour of her fur. Then he heard one of the bullies say something demeaning about her parents. It was the straw that broke her control. "TAKE THAT BACK!" she yelled as she flew her furry rabbit-like body towards the other kit, claws flailing. Keven wasn't sure what to do; should he jump in to break up this fight, or just let it resolve on its own? He was still debating when suddenly a loud voice called out into the street, "Enough!"

Both Keven and the bullies looked up from their respective places to see the source of the voice. An old wizened Kushiban, whom Keven recognized as the town medic, stood at the door of the docking port building. "Shoot!" One of the bullies exclaimed and they quickly broke up the party to flee, leaving the young female Kushiban alone in street. Tears were streaming from her eyes as her fur rippled between shades of black and grey. Keven watched from his perch in fascination as the old doctor walked towards the young girl and pulled her into his arms, hushing her. "B-b-b-but Erdict!" she sputtered, "They said that you shouldn't be here, d-d-doing what you're doing, providing healing services to a criminal! I told them that it doesn't matter who or what the p-p-person is, or has done, that it wouldn't be right to let them suffer to the point that they might die!"

_Oh, so that's why Erdict is here!_ Keven thought to himself as he recalled the rumours that a bounty hunter was passing through the spaceport that day with a wanted criminal in tow who was on the verge of death.

"…and then they started saying bad things about me, which would have been okay, but they said that it was because mom and dad were s-s-stupid that they got eaten by xinkras!" The girl wailed into the chest of the old doctor as he continued to hold her. Gradually her sobs began to abate and her fur faded back into its normal colour. _Beautiful fur._ Keven thought to himself in awe, as he stared at the lush silver-white fur of the female Kushiban before him. The slight dusty-tinge to his fur made him feel dirty in comparison.

"Quiet now Esuna," Erdict spoke softly as he dried the tears from her eyes. Then the old Kushiban laughed, "That's why you'll make such a good doctor one day! You have such a sense of justice that you won't let anyone suffer. First though you need to really learn to control your temper, or one day you will end up doing something that you regret." The little kit looked slightly ashamed, "I'm sorry Erdict," she said sincerely, her bushy tail drooping somewhat between her legs.

The old doctor smiled again as her ruffled her fur gently, "Then that's that." He stood up, "So, are you coming? I believe we have a criminal to heal." The girl's features brightened considerably, showing her enthusiasm over the thought of observing Erdict at his medical task, "Yeah!"

Erdict turned around and walked back towards the spaceport and the girl moved to follow. For a moment though, she looked up, and her crystal green eyes met Keven's blue ones from where he was perched atop a pile of crates. She gave him a shy smile and then bounded after Erdict. Keven could only stare after her. There was no question about it – he was hooked.

The pretty kit finally turned the corner out of Keven's view and the young male Kushiban squirmed, readjusting his position so he could better observe the activities on the ground. It was a busy day at the docking port, for it wasn't often that two ships came in on the same day. Sometimes the little landing field went for weeks without receiving a single visitor. When a ship did come in though, Keven liked to sit perched on whatever crates were nearby that would provide him a good view of the action. He found it fascinating to watch the huge ships descend into the landing field that had belonged to his family for generations. The aliens that emerged from these ships were just as fascinating, since many of them were furless giants of various colours, which towered over him and the other Kushiban. Maybe that was another reason Keven liked to sit on the crates: being up on them meant that he could look at the aliens from their height, and not have to crane his neck just to be able to see their funny faces.

The Ovnine landing field was one of the few docking ports on the planet of Korriban. As such, it received a large portion of the off-world traffic that occurred in the system. Keven considered himself lucky for this reason: many other Kushiban would likely never get the chance to see an alien, but he got to see them on a regular basis. Sometimes, after catching sight of him up on his crates, they would even stop to talk to him for a while. If he got really lucky then they would invite him to see the inside of their ship, or let him follow him to one of the establishments set up in town designed to accommodate large-folk, where he would spend the rest of the day listening to them tell stories amongst each other. Keven had never told anybody this, but it was his dream to one day hop into one of those spaceships himself and take off to see what other kind of interesting things there were out in the universe that he was missing out on. The stories the traders told would often light his imagination on fire and he could just see himself at the helm of a beautiful starship fending off pirates, or maybe transporting an important dignitary or criminal back to their home worlds. Or maybe one day he would become a space pirate himself, or maybe –

"Hey Trance!" A voice cut into Keven's reverie and he blinked out of his daydream in surprise, looking around for the source of the call. "Over here!" The voice said again, and Keven sat up from his reclined position to look behind him. The moment his eyes settled on the being who had called out to him, Keven's face broke out into a large grin. "Captain Belthrak!" he bounded off the crates to rush towards the tall red-skinned alien that had horns protruding out of the top of its head. "Welcome back to Korriban! I thought that landing ship looked like the Devil's Breath." Keven referred to the mid-sized freighter that belonged to the male Devaronian captain. "How long are you in the system for?"

Belthrak chuckled at the young Kushiban's enthusiasm and knelt down to give Keven a small scratch between the ears, an act that put the kit into a near state of bliss. "I'm afraid this visit is all business. We're just here to pick up a shipment and then we'll be on our way again."

Keven's tail drooped a little in disappointment, but he couldn't say that he was surprised. The crew members of the Devil's Breath were small independent traders that made their living by trafficking trade goods from the Outer Rim, like the high quality woven silk that the Kushiban produced, into the Inner Core of the Galaxy. This meant that the crew represented some of the more regular faces that stopped by the Korriban system, often frequenting a visit 2-3 times a year. Keven really enjoyed their visits because whenever they stopped for an extended period of time they would let him explore the ship and even sit with them so he could listen in on their stories as they visited the local sites. The stories that they told were some of the most interesting that Keven had ever heard. More than once he had been caught totally spacing out, lost in his imagination, after a particularly good tale. This was why they had started calling him 'Trance', and the Devil's Breath crew seemed to find this habit of his particularly amusing.

"The crew is just finishing loading the shipment aboard, and then I think we're going to take a moment to visit the Leafy Paw," Belthrak was referring to one of the only establishments in town that was set up to accommodate large-folk; it functioned as an inn, a cantina & restaurant, as well as a resupply storehouse. "If you want to you can tag along."

"Yeah!" Keven grinned to himself; this was why he loved hanging around the docking port!

_...half an hour later…_

The crew exploded into laughter at the expense of one of their crewmates. The large Wookie looked slightly put out to have the majority of his drink end up in his lap. "Raaawr rgaw," Jowurra made his displeasure known to the group. Keven grinned in spite of himself. Not only was the situation pretty funny, but he had actually been able to understand a bit of what the huge hairy beast in front of him had just said. His careful attention was beginning to pay off!

Just then the door opened at the end of the inn. The crewmates continued to cajole their friend, but Keven was no longer paying attention. Instead he found his eyes inextricably drawn to the radiant creature who stepped inside the entrance, accompanied by his father and the old medical doctor. Belthrak noticed the young Kushiban's stare and followed his gaze towards the door. An understanding grin lit upon the Devaronian's face and he leaned down to whisper into Keven's ear, "Now there's a pretty little kit, eh?" Keven didn't answer; in fact, he acted like he hadn't even heard. Siren, the human female who was sitting at the other end of the table, noticed the exchange and smirked. "Looks like Trance has found something to space out on other than space stories," she remarked. "Huh?" Keven blinked out of his stupor and looked towards his adult friends at the sound of his nickname. When he noticed that they were all peering at him with smug grins on their faces, his nose and the inside of his long floppy ears promptly turned beat red. "W-w-what?!" he stammered, trying to save face.

It was at that moment that his father caught sight of the young Kushiban sequestered among the group of aliens. "Ah Keven, good, there you are! Could you come over here for a minute?" Neightan Ovnine called out to his son. For second Keven froze, immobile, until Belthrak let out a brief chuckle and patted him gently forward. "Go for it kid. We got to get out of here soon anyways." He shot a meaningful glance towards the rest of the crew. Keven nodded dumbly, half-hearing the captain's words, and started walking stiffly over to where his father was waiting with Erdict and the pretty female kit.

"Erdict I think you've met Keven before right?" Keven's father began to officiate, "Esuna, this is my third son, Keven. He's about your age, maybe a couple of seasons older. Keven, this is Esuna Nym. Her parents died a couple of months back, so Erdict has decided to become her guardian and has taken her on as an apprentice as well."

Keven gaped. To be taken in as Erdict's apprentice was a rare and special privilege that was not offered to many. It was common knowledge that Erdict had a special connection to the Great Spirit that Binds Everything Together, and that he could call upon and borrow its power. Keven couldn't help but wonder if Esuna had that gift too.

"Pleased to meet you!" A furry hand thrust its way towards his body. Keven blankly looked at it for a second. Then his thoughts caught up with him, and he realized the young girl was still waiting for a response. He peeked cautiously upward, and was completely taken aback by the genuine enthusiasm that was radiating from her smiling face and crystal green eyes. Her warmth was contagious, and Keven couldn't help but give a small smile back of his own as he reached out to touch her hand, "Yes, nice to meet you."

"See you next season Trance!" Belthrak's voice boomed out across the room. Keven spun a look over his shoulder to see the crewmembers of the Devil's Breath exiting the building, on the way back to their ship. A few of them gave him a brief wave, which Keven responded to in kind, and Belthrak winked slyly at him before ducking out the door.

"Trance?" Esuna asked a puzzled look on her face. Keven could feel his whiskers go warm. "It's their nickname for me," he explained. Then he was struck by an idea. "Hey! Have you ever watched a ship take off from the landing field before?"

Esuna shook her head.  
"Do you want to see it happen?"  
The female kit looked up at Erdict for permission, who gave her an indulgent nod. "I'll come and get you when we are done," he said, indicating that he and Neightan had more to discuss before his work at the docking port was finished.  
"Come on then!" Keven quickly grabbed Esuna's hand and led her out the door.

The two kits rushed out towards the edge of the landing field and clambered up onto another pile of crates, which gave the most excellent view of the docked ships. The crew of the Devil's Breath was already prepping for takeoff. As they watched from the boxes Keven explained to Esuna what the crew was doing, walking her through the launch preparation process step by step. Finally the crew was done, and the two Kushiban watched in awe and wonder as the huge freighter rose up off the ground and began to ascend in the air. The spaceship was soon out of sight as it got lost in the haziness of the upper atmosphere.

"That was so cool," Esuna breathed.  
Keven nodded, and a determined look came on his face, "One day that will be me up there."  
"You want to leave Korriban?" Esuna crouched down on all fours and stared up at him in surprise. Obviously such an outlandish thought had never even crossed her mind.  
"No, it's not that I want to leave. …" Keven fumbled for the right explanation. "It's just that, well, that there might be so much out there for me to experience. Who knows what adventurers could be up there in the stars? I watch the spaceships take off and I get this feeling of excitement and anticipation, like some day I want that to be me."  
"Hmmm, I think I know what you mean. I think I feel that way whenever I watch Erdict borrows the power of the Great Spirit that Binds Everything Together. The wounds he treats close up so quickly and neatly it's like magic! One day I really want to be like him," Esuna sighed wistfully as she turned her head to watch the smoke from the fires in town curl up lazily into the sky.

Movement from the entrance of the Leafy Paw caught Keven's attention and he watched as the old Kushiban doctor emerged from the building. "There's Eridct. Looks like he's ready to go," Keven remarked even as Erdict caught sight of them and proceeded to give a beckoning wave. Esuna peered over in the same direction before standing up, "I guess I better get going then. It was nice to meet you Keven," she gave him a cute grin, and hopped gracefully down off the crates. Turning back around towards Keven she said, "Let's do this again!"

"… Uh yeah! Let's do this again! You can come and visit anytime!" Keven offered eagerly, after a moment of speechlessness.  
Esuna giggled, "You can come and visit me anytime you want too!" She gave him one last encouraging grin and then bounded off towards Erdict. Keven gazed after her in admiration. The light from the setting sun really brought out the silver in her fur.


	2. Chapter 2: 7 Years Later

…_7 years later…_

"Keven give that back! That's my apear!" Esuna glared at her friend, who had scampered out of reach up a huge tree. Keven merely looked down at her mischievously, and then held the piece of fruit up to his nose, sniffing it appreciatively. "Are you trying to make me angry?" the teenaged Kushiban warned. Her fur was beginning to ripple slightly with grey overtones and her green eyes were darkening, as they began to adopt a red tint to the edges.

Keven couldn't help but grin. He would never admit it out loud, but that was exactly what he was trying to do. There were very few things in life that gave him as much pleasure in life as watching his childhood friend get angry at him for a ridiculous reason. Esuna tended to over-react so much over the littlest things that it was hilarious! The colour of her fur would not only turn black in accordance with her mood, but even her eyes would change colour and her fur and tail would stand on end, until she looked like the Demon Kushiban herself. Keven found the extreme degree of Esuna's transformation absolutely adorable; he had even given her a nickname for it a couple of years back. "Oh, come on now Spitfire," he teased, "What's a little apear given to a friend? It smells so de-li-cious." He licked his lips for effect.

Esuna's eyes sparked indignantly. "That's my lunch!" she insisted. Her fur was beginning to bush out.

Keven eyed the apear ungratefully. "This is your lunch?!" he scoffed. He hopped gracefully down from the tree a couple of meters away from Esuna. Then, before she had a chance to react, he bit into the juicy fruit. "This is a pretty lousy lunch," he remarked between bites.

"YOU….?!" Esuna eyes bulged as she watched her best friend begin to consume her meal. She lunged towards him, aiming to grab the fruit out of his hand, but Keven caught her wrist and grinned at her once again. "Let me show you a real lunch," he said flippantly, as he began to casually lead her through the forest.

"What are you talking about?" The outraged look on Esuna's face was now coupled with confusion. "You'll see," Keven promised. The black colour of Esuna's fur shimmered uncertainly. It only took a few moments for them to arrive at the edge of the landing field of the Ovnine docking port. Esuna's eyes grew round as she witnessed what was lying on the ground awaiting them. A large blanket had been spread over the short-cut grass and a vibrant display fruits and vegetables of various sizes, shapes and colours adorned it.

"See, now this is what I call a lunch." Keven announced smugly to his speechless friend. "So, how about you forgive me for the last little incident, and we'll have a picnic?" Esuna turned her shocked eyes towards the male Kushiban. "You planned this," she accused. "This is why you invited me over on my lunch break and stole my apear. You _planned_ this!" Her voice sounded outraged, but the colour of her fur had recovered its silvery white sparkle.

Keven laughed good-naturedly, and stroked his whiskers. "You can't possibly suggest that I would be so sly as to plan something like this?" he asked innocently. Esuna smiled and shook her head in disbelief at his audacity. "Hmmmm, you don't believe me now, do you? Okay, then let's eat now, before you have to leave." He quickly led his female friend the rest of the way over to the blanket on the ground and both Kushiban settled down to leisurely dig into the prepared feast.

The two friends ate and chatted for about three quarters of an hour until a growing humming noise, like that of a large engine, caught their attention. "There's a ship coming in today?" Esuna asked as they both looked up into the sky. Keven nodded, "Yeah, the Devil's Breath is scheduled to arrive at any time." Esuna grinned, "Oh yay! I hope Alistaire brought more reference books for me!" She referred to the female Ithorian pilot of the Devil's Breath, who also functioned as ship medic. Ithorians were large strange looking creatures that had large flatted hammer-shaped heads and several mouths that would speak in stereo. Despite the physical differences between the two species, Alistaire and Esuna had developed a close since the Ithorian had joined the crew 6 years ago. The rest of the crew referred to Alistaire by her nickname "Star-Lady", but both Esuna and Alistaire insisted on calling other by their first names as a gesture of mutual respect, and the two medics would often trade notes and resources with one another.

Esuna peered up into the sky and frowned, lifting one hand to shield her eyes. "The sun makes it hard to see," she complained. Just then a look of comprehension dawned on her face and she looked down towards Keven in alarm. "The sun, Great Spirit! I've got to go! I'm going to be late for my shift, and Erdict's going to kill me!" She was speaking metaphorically of course, since Erdict was reknowned for his calm nature, but even still she jumped up on her feet in panic, before looking down at the scattered remains of their lunch helplessly.

"You go on ahead; I'll take care of cleaning up here," Keven offered. Esnua shot him a grateful look. Then she sunk down onto all fours and began to bolt away at top speed. "Thank you for the lunch Keven!" Esuna turned her head to call over her shoulder as she ran. "Say hi to the crew of the Devil's Breath for me!"

"I wi…WATCH OUT!" Keven shouted at his friend, who had looked forward just in time to barely miss running headfirst into a tree. Even still Esuna managed to stumble slightly on the roots. "Oooops," Keven heard her say clearly even as she continued her relentless sprint forward, leaving him alone at the edge of the woods.

Keven blinked and then laughed softly. "That idiot," he muttered softly to himself as he bent down to pick up the first piece of discarded fruit. It was so typical of Esuna to nearly get into an accident like that, since she was the type of Kushiban who would often leap before she looked. If there was one quality that Esuna did not lack in life, it was enthusiasm. It came out in everything she did, even in the manifestations of her temper. Her commitment to her convictions was extreme, but that was a quality that Keven liked about her. He found that being around her made his life just that much more interesting.

…

It only took Keven a little while to clean up, and by the time he had finished the Devil's Breathe had just finished its landing procedure. He hurried back to the docking buildings clutching the pack that held the lunch remains, hoping to dispose of them before the Devil's Breath crew caught site of the pack and started asking questions. He suspected that if they found out that he had been having a picnic with Esuna on the edge of the landing field, he would end up as the target of all of their teasing for the rest of the night. Moving deftly between a pile of crates towards his dad's office, Keven suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar red, horned head walking past on the other side. He ducked and listened as Belthrak, who was in deep conversation with his father, finished up with last bit of business formalities and then moved with the rest of the crew towards the Leafy Paw.

Keven breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't caught yet! He poked his head around the corner of the crates. Good, they were entering the restaurant area. That should give him the cover needed to make it to his dad's office in the loading area and… "Beep-da-beep?" The beeping sound came from behind him and nearly caused Keven to jump out of his fur. He whirled around to confront the interloper and found himself face to face with a small rusty-orange droid about the size of his head that was floating in the air on tiny repulsor lifts. It cocked its optical scanner in a manner that could only be called inquisitive.

Keven breathed out. "A0K," he whispered hoarsely, "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Bleep-da-Beepa?" The droid seemed to be asking him a question.

Keven shook his head and moved out across from the crates towards his dad's office, making a blatant show of ignoring the curious machine. A0K was a custom-made mini-astromech droid that belonged to one of the newer members of the Devil's Breathe. It was at moments like this that Keven was glad that he couldn't understand the series of beep and whistles that the astromech used to communicate, because if he had to guess he would bet that A0K had just been asking, "What are you doing?" That wasn't a question he was too keen on answering at that minute, since he felt a little foolish for all the sneaking. It was just that he didn't want to give his friends any more fodder to tease him with than they usually had. Thinking about his friends renewed Keven's anticipation to meet with them, and he began to move faster, more confidently this time, until he had made it safely to his dad's office and disposed of the pack he had been carrying. Thus unencumbered, he then made a bee-line back to the Leafy Paw.

"…there he is. Trance!" A voice called out his nickname as soon as he stepped through the door. Keven looked up and quickly spotted the crew of the Devil's Breath seated at one of the few large folk tables in the room. The one who had called his name was the shortest member at the table, although certainly not as short as Keven. He had a long angular face that sported an extended snout with heart shaped nose. Large pointed ears protruded from the sides of his head, and his skin was completely covered in a short dark-grey fur. "Hey Bimm!" Keven responded to the greeting and walked quickly over to the table. "Bimm" was a Bimm whose real name was actually Pashak. Keven didn't know why, but since he first met the Bimm two and a half years ago, everyone had just called him by his species name. Bimm was the newest member of the Devil's Breath crew. He had joined them as some sort of technical genius, replacing their previous engineer who had been a Bith. Bimm was particularly good at verbal gymnastics, and on a good day, according to Belthrak, he could smooth talk a Wookie right into a hair-cut. Keven glanced at Jowurra and wondered if it was true.

"Hey guys, welcome back to Korriban." Keven greeted the Devil's Breath crew as he leaped up onto a chair where he could stand and see them from a more equal height.

"Hey there Trance, glad to see you could make it," Belthrak grinned and raised his cup to his lips.

"Yeah, why were you sneaking around and being all hidden-like earlier?" Bimm asked, perhaps a little too innocently.

Keven froze. How did they know? He thought he had made it around them perfectly without being spotted at all! His concealment had been perfect; how had they seen him? "Beep-deda-blep-da?" a small droid's curious whistle seemed to echo the Bimm's query. Understanding dawned on Keven and he looked up to glare at the hovering A0K. He had forgotten all about the nosey droid. Regardless of the fact whether he understood astromech or not, Bimm certainly did because the Bimm had built the droid himself from scratch. No doubt the droid had ratted on him.

"Oh really, you were wearing a pack?" Bimm interpreted the droid's latest serious of beeps and turned to look at Keven for clarification.

Keven felt the tips of his ears gaining heat. He resisted the temptation to leap up from the table, grab the orange floating droid, and hightail it out of there for some serious demolition work. "I…I… had to put something away," he managed to stutter out a vague reply.

"Is that so?" Belthrak replied casually, taking another swig from his mug. At this point Siren directed her own penetrating stare at the young male Kushiban and asked, "By the way Trance, where's that Spitfire girlfriend of yours today? She didn't come with you?"

Keven could feel the inside of the rest of his ears turning red, and his whiskers gained warmth. "She's not my girlfriend," he muttered lamely, wishing that he could change the direction this conversation was going, although honestly he wouldn't mind if Esuna _was _his girlfriend. It just didn't seem like it was the right time yet for him to move their relationship in that direction; after all, she probably only still viewed him as a childhood friend.

"Speaking of relationships this reminds me," a warm harmonious voice spoke up that had previously been silent, "earlier, while I was landing the ship I thought I saw a couple of young Kushiban having a small picnic at the edge of the landing field. I thought to myself, 'Wasn't that nice?'" Alistaire's eyes twinkled mischeviously.

Keven groaned inwardly. Even the Star-Lady wasn't cutting him any slack on this one! At this point he could see no other option than to confess. "Yeah, um, Esuna and I were just having a small lunch before she had to go to work. She says hi. I just had to get rid of the leftovers before I came over here, that's all."

Bimm snickered under his breath and began to hum with a sing-song voice, "Trance and Spitfire sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N- ouch! What was that for?" The furry creature rubbed the back of his head where Siren had smacked him.

"Let's give the young kid a break. He's confessed now, and besides, can't you see he's dying of embarrassment?" Siren spoke up in Keven's defense, with the expression on her face being an odd mixture between amusement and annoyance. As for Keven, well, by now his skin was so red that even his fur had taken on pinkish undertones.

"I was just having a little fun," Bimm grumbled sulkily. He didn't continue with the chant though, and for that Keven felt relieved.

"Work huh?" Captain Belthrak was stroking his chin looking thoughtful over the contents of Keven's confession. "You mean the pretty little kit is already old enough to work now?"

Keven drew his head up with more dignity. "Yeah actually, we both are. Kushiban kits become recognized as adults when they reach 13 galactic standard years, and today was Esuna's first day of operating the clinic solo."

"Good for her!" Alistaire praised her friend melodiously, "So then, what have you been up to Trance?"

"…uh…I'm…I'm working on that," Keven fumbled his words lightly, "I'm going to try and see if I can talk my father into letting me go up into space."

"Really?" Belthrak seemed interested. "You have an interest in space-travel, boy?"

"Yeah, um, well, I've seen a lot of aliens come and go since I've lived so close to the docking port all of my life, and I just think it would be fun to see what else is out there that I might be missing out on."

"Believe me, it isn't all fun and games," Siren muttered softly enough that barely anyone heard.

"What was that?" Keven turned a curious head over to hear her more directly.

"I was just saying that space might not be all the adventure that you thought it out to be," Siren clarified, "There's a lot of time that you spend doing nothing."

Keven nodded, "I know that, but I still want to try it one day."

"In that case," Belthrak interjected, "Trance, why don't I have a talk with your father? I've been thinking lately that our ship could really use some sort of cabin boy to help keep the place tidy, and I think you might just fit the bill."

"You telling me," Bimm chortled once again, "What with the mess that Siren and Jowurra keep making – ouch! You hit me again!" Bimm turned to Siren with an injured expression, and Jowurra let out a grateful rawr in the human's direction. "Don't push it," Siren warned the Bimm.

"So what do you think kid?" the captain asked Keven.

Keven was stunned. "R-Really?! You would take me on as a crewmate?! That would be awesome!" His long, bushy tail was almost wagging with excitement.

Belthrak smiled, "Well then, let me finish up my drink and then I'll go have a talk with your dad."


End file.
